120 witchling moments
by sheelaflower
Summary: 120 little Oneshots, fitting to 120 Keywords. All Genres, all pairings and all characters can be found here. Open for requests.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a project that I think was started in the German version of fanfiction. The rules are pretty simple; you have 120 terms and you have to write a oneshot to each of them. The order doesn't matter, neither does it matter which characters you use, what genre or what rating. The only rules are that it has to stay in one fandom and that the oneshot actually fits to the terms used.**

**Since no one has written one for the Ojamajo Doremi fandomn yet (at least in the universal ff version), I will gladly take this burden upon myself. I hope you all enjoy.**

1. In between worlds

2. Love

3. Sunset

4. Deep

5. Seeking Solace

6. Break away

7. Eden

8. Innocence - done

9. Drive

10. Breathe again

11. Memory - done

12. Insanity

13. Abuse

14. Smile - done

15. Emotionless

16. Caged

17. Blood

19. Snow

20. Fortitude

21. Anomaly

22. Forest

23. Cat

24. Me Time

25. Trouble Lurking

26. Never cry

28. Anguish

31. Defile

32. Never look back

33. Provoke

34. Mechanical

35. Hold my hand

36. Precious treasure

37. Eyes

38. Abandoned

39. Dreamed

40. Black and blue

41. Teamwork

42. Standing still

43. Dying

44. Two Roads

45. Illusion

46. family

47. Homunculi

48. Orphan

49. Stripes

50. Breaking the rules

51. Games

52. Claustrophobia

53. Keeping a secret

54. City

55. Waiting

56. Hell Bent

57. Sacrifice

58. Bittersweet

59. Suffocate

60. Rejection

61. Fairytale

62. Djinn

63. Come-hither

64. Amputation

65. Contort

66. Suicide

67. Security Blanket

68. Bully

69. Annoyance

70. Wanton

71. Obsession

72. Pawn

73. I can't

74. Demented

75. Mirror

76. Broken Pieces

77. Test

78. The fool

80. Words

81. Edge

82. Forever

83. Heal

84. Out cold

85. Spiral

86. Seeing red

87. Appetite

88. Pain

89. Through the fire

90. Sephia

91. Drowning - done

92. Die for you

93. Give up

94. Last hope - done

95. Streets

96. In the storm

97. Regret

98. Puzzle

99. Solitude

100. Relaxation

101. Emo

102. Act your age

103. Covet

104. Detached

105. Belittle

106. Confusion

107. Dog

108. Moonlight

109. Secret place

110. Annex

111. Coward

112. Emulate

113. Kami

114. place of god

115. Delicate

116. All my fault

117. Chains

118. Ferocious

1119. Autumn

120. Looser


	2. 14  Smile

Title: 14 –Smile  
>Characters: Doremi; Akatsuki<br>Genre: Romance  
>Rating: K<p>

"Akatsuki-kun!"

Doremi's smile got huge when she spotted the purple-haired wizard on top of the steps to the Mahou-Dou. The boy himself couldn't help but smile himself when he saw the red haired being so happy. Wait, what?

_Get a hold of yourself, she's only your target, nothing more._

Akatsuki walked down the steps until he stood right in front of Doremi. She looked up at him with that gleeful expression, those shining eyes and that wonderful smile. Somewhere in the background he could see Hadzuki, Aiko and Onpu taking care of the flowers in the garden. Nobody but Doremi knew right now that he was here. That was good.

"What are you doing here?" Doremi asked, pulling the wizard out of his thoughts.

He was here to see Doremi and spend time with her.

_No you're not, you're here to take Hana. Don't forget that._

"I was just wondering if you'd go to town with me."

That was the plan. Lure Doremi and the others away from the Mahou Dou. One of them will take Hana with them, they will tell Oyajide and he will take Hana while the boys make sure that they can't use their magical stage to call upon the power of the royal patraine.

But Akatsuki forgot that plan when he saw the witchling's smile grow even wider.

_Don't let your guard down, you're on a mission!_

After Doremi cried yes, she ran into the Mahou Dou to ask the others if she could go. They said yes. Of course they did, the shop was about to close and they wouldn't have many more costumers. It's the reason Akatsuki decided to come at this time of the day. Soon, Fujio, Leon and Tooru would come as well and the plan would reach stage two.

"Let's go."

Doremi took Akatsuki's hand and pulled him away from the shop. Again, Akatsuki couldn't help but smile when he saw the little girl being so full of glee.

_What are you doing, you idiot? You have other priorities than this girl!_

It didn't take long until they reached the city center. Misora wasn't that big and the Mahou Dou wasn't that far away from it. Still, Doremi was already completely exhausted from running all the way and from pulling the wizard prince after her.

"You shouldn't push yourself so hard", Akatsuki scolded her.

She had absolutely no stamina and being exhausted like this just couldn't be healthy. He was seriously worried about the red-haired.

_Cut that out of your head. How will you take Hana if you're getting close to her?_

That's right. He would have to take Hana from her, one of Doremi's most important persons in the whole world. And once he's done that, he would never get to see her again. He would never get to see her smile again.

"Sorry", Doremi panted out.

"What are you sorry for?"

"Making you worry, of course."

He didn't smile with her this time. He was just looking at her, imagining how things would turn out once Hana's gone. Doremi's smile faded as well. She didn't like the gloomy expression on Akatsuki's face, so after a second of silence, she made a decision. Akatsuki was thrown off guard when the witchling grabbed his hand and pulled her with her again.

A Battle Ranger show; that was heaven for both, Akatsuki and Doremi. But that wasn't it. Doremi also took Akatsuki to eat some ice-cream at a café, to the top of the highest tower in Misora and last but not least to a nice and quiet park where they sat down to relax and watch the setting sun.

Relaxing wasn't all that great for Akatsuki, because then he had time to think and thinking caused him a huge headache when he was around Doremi. Named girl noticed his distress and once again, made a decision.

"I like you best when you smile", she started, pulling the wizard out of his thoughts once again.

"Huh?"

"You always seem so sad and depressed when you don't smile as if something is bothering you. I don't like seeing you like that."

Akatsuki's eyes went huge in his amazement. Did the girl even know how exactly she hit the spot? It seemed as if Doremi had the ability to sense where exactly the problem lies within a person and to heal him from that very point.

"That's why I want you to smile as much as possible" Doremi smiled widely.

The wizard couldn't help but to chuckle at that. She was just too cute.

_Don't think like that._

"Only if you smile with me", Akatsuki smiled back.

Somehow, everything would turn out right and they would be able to smile together someday. He would smile for Doremi and she would smile that most wonderful of smiles only for him the way she does now.

And no thought came to bring him back down to earth.


	3. 94 Last Hope

**Aww, come on you guys, why was there hardly any reaction to this? Someone could have at least faved it or something. Oh, and if someone has a wish as to what I should write a chapter about, just fire away. I have another 118 oneshots to go and I've never tried a request before, so I'm pretty eager to do one. Or, if you have anything else you want to say, please do. Anyways, I do not own Ojamajo Doremi not any of it's characters.**

Title: 94 – Last Hope  
>Characters: Queen Lumina; Doremi<br>Genre: Hmm … that's a hard one … Angst maybe?  
>Rating: K+<p>

It would always be this way, whenever the witch world needed help. She would seek out Doremi and all the friends around her, giving her another chance to become full witches. It had happened three times and it would happen again. Now the only question was; how could she; Queen Lumina, feel that the witch world needed her?

It was probably because of her being part of it. Being the queen, Lumina had a special feel for what would be to come and yet, she could never have imagined that her decisions would make such a difference to her world when she makes them.

Only the first time was different. That time, when Doremi found out that Majo Rika was a witch, that was the one time in which not she made the decision, but the Queen of two reigns ago who had put this curse upon the witches. How did that small, unimportant incident turn into something so big? Was it only coincidence that it was Doremi and her friends who would play this role or was it fate, something that went beyond her control?

No! Looking back, this could not have been coincidence. It was the redhead's pure soul and her crystal clear heart that had made this happen. Only she had the ability to see into people's eyes and know what it is they need. Only she had the ability to feel with them so intensely. Only she had the ability and the strength to cure them from the inside. That is why Doremi was brought to the witch world, that is why she was the one who was chosen to do this task.

When was her fate decided? Was it long before she became a witch-apprentice? After all, Queen Lumina had been by her side this entire time, being astounded by Doremi's never ending kindness over and over again. Or was it after she became a full witch for the very first time, putting the life she knew on the line to help a girl that showed her nothing but coldness? Maybe, it was something in between.

Lumina wasn't involved when Doremi and the others sneaked into the witch world either, the reason they were able to see Hana's birth, but it was her decision to make them witch-apprentices again. Surely, her fate had already been decided by then. After all, Hana will play a big role for the future of the witch world and her immense power is prove for that. It cannot have been a mere coincidence that Doremi found her.

Nobody would have foretold that the Tourbillion would try to kill Hana, not even herself, though it was obvious from the very start. No ordinary witch could have gotten that rose to cure her, a witch-apprentice no less. Not even Doremi's friends who were almost as kindhearted as Doremi herself managed to do it. Only Doremi's crystal clear heart could sustain enough love to have the power to break through Tourbillions barrier. Yes, Doremi's fate had already been decided by that.

But they had to turn human again. Yet, looking back at it, the idea of giving Doremi and her friends a reward for everything they did for the witch and wizard world just came too suddenly to have been a mere game of the mind. Lumina might have felt that Hana's power would sooner or later come to light, pulling the sorrowing queen's attention on herself and the only one who would have been able to help her would be Doremi and her friends.

So they did. But not only did they protect Hana, they also managed to get Tourbillion to open up a little. On the other hand, what else could you expect from Doremi? But her upcoming task would be the hardest and most dangerous of all and Lumina wasn't sure anymore if she, a little sixth grader would be up for it. Still, Doremi was the only one who would stand a chance.

Still, Doremi was their last hope.


	4. 8 Innocence

**Took a while, but I'm finally back with the next little one-shot. I just realized that mine are all so short and this was isn't really longer. I'll have to start making them a lot longer than this, otherwise I have no excuse for the long waits. Anyways, I do not own Ojamajo Doremi nor any of its characters. ENJOY!**

Title: 8 –Innocence  
>Characters: Hana; Doremi<br>Genre: Friendship  
>Rating: K<p>

"Hana-chan, come back here!" Doremi yelled at the little girl that was floating through the shop.

Floating through the shop? That's right, little baby Hana was floating through the magical shop, the 'Mahou Dou'. She had gotten really fast, Doremi was experiencing that the hard way. She HAD to catch Hana, she just had to. What would she do if someone came into the shop and found a little baby floating through the air and a girl in a pink costume and on a broom chasing after her? They would get discovered as witches and would both turn into magical frogs. Oh, why weren't the others here today?

"HANA-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!" Doremi yelled and reached out her hand.

She was almost there. Just a little bit more. Doremi stretched out her hand as far as she could. Three more inches … two more inches … one more inch …

That moment Hana took a sharp turn to the left and Doremi slammed against the wall, head on. But of course, little baby Hana didn't care about that. She just went on floating through the shop, laughing and giggling and having the time of her life, completely oblivious to the danger she was in should anyone decide to enter the store.

"Ow …" Doremi moaned and rubbed her head.

"IDIOT!" Majo Rika cried as she floated to Doremi, Lala by her side. "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO CATCH HANA; NOT TRASH MY STORE!"

"Yeah, yeah", the redhead pouted and hoped back on her broom.

Now that was really easier said than done. Catching Hana had become a herculestask lately. It was close to impossible. Still, Doremi refused to give up. She would protect her little, cheeky, oblivious, innocent Hana, no matter what.

A few times did she almost make it, only to smash against the wall when Hana took a turn. The pain on her head was becoming almost unbearable and Majo Rika's yelling didn't help a bit. When Doremi lost balance on and fell of her broom for the sixth time, she stopped being lucky. She could feel a stinging pain in her ankle and it was swelling quickly. She must have twisted it.

Tear welled up in Doremi's eyes that she just managed to hold back. She tried standing up, but the pain was too great and she fell back to the floor, where the first tears started falling.

Hana-chan must have noticed that something was wrong, because she stopped in mid-air and turned around to look at her 'mother' in worry. When she saw the tears in her eyes and the swollen ankle, Hana flew back to the redhead as fast as she could.

Doremi looked at her daughter and forced a smile, telling her that everything was alright. But Hana wasn't fooled. She looked at the ankle and saw how red and swollen it was and tears welled up in her eyes as well. Wether she knew that it was because of her that this had happened or not, Doremi couldn't tell. But she did know that Hana was just as worried about her as she was worried about Hana.

The redhead took the baby witch into her arms and gave her a tight hug.

"Hana-chan", she whispered, "thank you."

Seeing a real smile on her mother's face, Hana's mood lit up immediately. Sure, Hana might be a bit wild, but she wasn't as oblivious as she seemed to be. She was just completely innocent and Doremi didn't care about how often she would get injured. She just hoped that it would stay this way for as long as possible. After all, innocence is bliss, right?


	5. 11 Memory

**So, here is my very first request for MintCookieMonsterr … weird name is you ask me. Aaaaanyways, I really, REALLY hope I did a good job on that one so Mr/Mrs Monsterr, would you be so kind to review and tell me if this fulfills your wishes? Please and thanks. I do NOT own Ojamajo Doremi nor any of it's characters, otherwise the FLAT 4 would have a lot more appearances.**

Title: 11 – Memory  
>Characters: Onpu, Tooru<br>Genre: Romance, Angst  
>Rating: K+ … I really ought to do something more mature …<p>

Memories … they're a weird thing, aren't they? They come when you don't expect them to, they're stuck in your head when you wish for nothing more but for them to go away and they leave when you need them the most. They are a bit like a tune that sticks itself into your head, but the emotions that come with them are much, much more intense; especially when the memories revolve around someone important to you.

Onpu had many of such memories. She had memories of the time she spent with her father when he was home. She had memories of how she had lived with her mother before she even had become an idol. She had memories of how she had discovered Majo Ruka to be a witch, which had helped her to come out big in the idol world. She had memories of her friendship to Doremi and the others when she had moved to Misora.

Those memories were most precious to her. Doremi, Hazuki, Aiko, Momoko and Hana had always been good friends to her, especially Doremi. No matter how cold she had been to them, no matter how busy she had been and no matter how stuck up she had acted, they had always been by her side, had laughed for her and had supported her. Yes, she really held those memories dear.

Onpu sighed and stood up. It was rainy outside and she couldn't leave the studio until her mother came to pick her up. She couldn't just sit down and do nothing, because then, memories of her friends and her childhood would pop up in her head and thinking about the wonderful days back then was depressing. Because they were witch apprentices, life had been so much more complicated than for the other kids her age, yet they seemed cheerful and simple compared to her life now.

She was going to a high school for idols. There were many people in that school who were popular in all of Japan, yet, nobody had been in the business for as long as Onpu had been and hardly anybody had as much talent. The girls looked up to her and worshipped her, the boys were swooning around her, always trying to convince her to go on a date with her or at least steal a kiss from her.

Onpu didn't blame them. She had grown into a beautiful woman and she knew that. She was talented, she was popular and she was hot. Of course, everybody would want to be her friend. But Onpu didn't want to be theirs. None of these people mattered to her as much as Doremi and the others had. With a frustrated yell, the purple haired shook her head to get these thoughts out of her head. That life was over and she had to deal with it. Maybe someday, she would meet up with them again, but until then she had to concentrate on her career.

Trying to get her head to clear up, she walked through the studio. Many different artists were on right now. There were comedians, singers, interviews, talk shows and overall idols, like her. But one show caught her attention. It was a simple talk show like many others. Onpu knew that show, it was quite popular and she had been in it before as well. However, what really caught her attention was the life performance that was taking place in that talk show right now. A young boy, not older than 13 was in it. He was dancing and he was good in it. His name was Hatsuda Hiroshi.

And immediately, a new memory popped up in Onpu's head. It was the memory of a boy that she hadn't thought about in ages. Looking at Hiroshi, she remembered that boy so clearly that he could have been standing right in front of her. She saw his wild blue hair with the two outstanding strands, the overconfident look on his face, his red mantle and his green eyes … or had they been grey? Onpu had never really known.

She could even hear his voice, calling her name. It was filled with overconfidence, like always. Only thinking of how he always wanted to imitate her, thinking he was all that great when he was only a little brat that had no clue of the idol world; it made her face heat up in anger. Still, the memory of him was so strikingly strong that she could only stand there for a few seconds, completely shocked.

But then the boy stopped dancing and Onpu got a hold of herself. She shook her head and walked on, confused and pouting. But the blue haired boy never left her mind and the young idol was seriously starting to become irritated. She walked faster and more energetic as if that would shake away the memory away. But it didn't. He was always there, next to her, mocking her, calling her name. And it drove her crazy.

She screamed out in frustration and walked to the cafeteria, hoping that a nice warm cup of hot chocolate would put her into a different frame of mind. It did, but not the way she hoped. Instead of him following her everywhere, she now saw him dancing. He had been an awesome dancer, even if everything else that he did was idiotic. She would close her ears when he sang and would rub her temples when he tried acting, he was that terrible. But when he danced, then she had always forgotten where she was or what she was doing and was completely observed in watching him.

Just as she was now. He wasn't really dancing and somewhere deep in her mind, she knew that, just as she knew that he wasn't even here. Yet, the memory of it was enough to put her into a trance and for a long time, she only sat at the table, sipped her hot chocolate and stared holes into the air where she saw him jumping and twirling and moving his body like nobody else could.

And maybe someday, she would dance with him. That thought (and the fact that her hot chocolate was empty), brought her back to her senses and she let her head fall on the table. What did she have to do to get that idiotic boy out of her head? He had caused her nothing but problems and she was glad that he was gone.

But then why couldn't she forget him? Why couldn't she get him out of her mind? The purple haired lifted her head from the table and looked back up into the air. There he was again, looking down at her, but not with that idiotic, over confident grin of his, but with a really nice smile. She looked at him longingly and blushed. He too had been part of her life with as a witch apprentice and she would give her right arm to get it back … to get him back.

He reached out his hand for her and said her name one more time. With a bit of hesitation, she reached out to him as well, but the moment they should've touched, he disappeared. Onpu gasped and her eyes widened. He couldn't leave. Not now, when she had finally accepted the fact that he was there! Frantically, she looked around, but he was nowhere to be seen.

And then she remembered that he had never been there. He had been no more than a memory, just like Doremi and the others. She had left that life behind and she had left him behind. Why had she done that? She had loved that life. She had been happy. She had found real friends and adventures. She had learned to laugh and to shine and she had loved.

Tears started welling up in her eyes and Onpu clutched her chest in pain. It didn't matter if anyone saw her. Her fans were probably at home, her mother was somewhere out there, doing all kinds of things to manage her career, Doremi and Hadzuki were in Misora, Aiko in Osaka and Momoko in America. There was nobody she had to smile for, so why keep back the tears? They started leaving her eyes and running down her face, only to fall from her chin to her lap.

The idol stood up. She refused to just sit there and let herself drown self pity. She went out of the cafeteria, through the lobby and out into the rain. She didn't care if she got wet or if she got sick. She just wanted to keep moving. She had to keep moving. Yet, the pain was still there and it wouldn't leave. She knew that she would never cause magic with Doremi and the others again, she knew that she would never get to learn from Majo Prima again and she knew that she would never get to dance with the boy that had haunted her memories just a few moments ago.

And so she kept on walking. The rain soaked her completely and her tears could hardly be seen through the rest of the water that ran down her face. But Onpu didn't care. Why should she? Soon, she had walked so far that she no longer had a clue where she was. She stood still and looked up a bit. She must have been in one of Tokyo's outskirts. What did it matter? Onpu wanted to go on. She had to keep walking after all, but she couldn't. For a long time, she just stood there and did nothing. She did not move a muscle. Then suddenly, she hid her face in her hands, let herself fall on her knees. Had anybody looked out of the window, they would have been captured by that sad girl, crouching over in the middle of the streets and crying her heart out in the rain. But nobody looked out and nobody seemed to care. The purple haired was all alone with nothing but her memories.

"You're gonna get a cold if you keep sitting here."

Onpu looked up. That voice had been familiar. But … no, it couldn't be. Her mind must be playing tricks again. Yet, she looked up and saw the overconfident face of the blue haired boy. He was as soaked as she was, but he didn't seem to mind. However, she still wasn't convinced.

"Come on, silly. Get up."

He was grinning idiotically at her and held out his hand to help her up. Onpu didn't dare taking it. She was afraid that, if she tried touching him, he'd disappear again. But he just stood there, not moving. Water was dripping from his hair and clothes. If he really was real, why didn't he just summon an umbrella? He was a magician after all. Coming to think of it, if he wasn't real, then how come he was all wet, just like her?

Hesitating even more than before, she slowly reached out to him and touched the tip of his fingers. He didn't disappear. He was solid and he was warm. And for some reason, Onpu suddenly realized how cold she was. Yet, that didn't matter. All that mattered was that he was here, right in front of her. After all these years, she finally got to see him again.

"Tooru-kun …" she whispered.

Tooru's eyes widened a bit. From the way she had been looking at him, she had never thought that she would remember him. He had just found an opportunity to go back to the human world and look how his crush was doing. Never had he thought he would find her like this. And that she remembered him shocked him even more. But then, a soft smile found its way on his lips and he nodded.

The purple haired cried some more, but took the boy's hand anyways. He pulled her up and she wrapped her arms around him, which caught him completely off guard. What the hack had gotten into her? Something bad must have happened to her, that was the only explanation he could find for her weird behavior. Yet, he decided to just focus his attention on her for now and hugged her back. He felt her shiver and rubbed her naked arms to warm her up again and she took in all of it, together with the feel of his presence and his wonderful scent.

"Tooru-kun?" she said when she had warmed up a bit.

"Hmm?"

"Dance with me!"

The Hell? What on earth was going on with this girl? She had always been so cold, so emotionless and so controlled. No matter how bad the situation was, she would always fight and do her best and would act like a real pro. Only once had he seen her with her guard down like this and that was when he had revealed his true identity as a wizard. But that had only been for a few seconds and then she was her old self again.

However, he soon accepted the fact that she let her façade fall for him and shared her pain with him. In fact, it made him feel like she cared for him and trusted him and he definitely liked that. But still, the two of them dancing?

"Here?" he asked. "Now?"

She looked at him with her big purple eyes and nodded. What he really wanted to do was to get her somewhere warm and make sure she wouldn't get sick, but there was no way he could say no to that girl. So he took her right hand and grabbed her waist and she let it happen. And then they twirled around through the streets and through the rain. Little raindrops were thrown into every direction when they hit the couple. Water from the floor was thrown around when their feet hit it and it almost looked as the rain tried to dance with them.

And then they stopped. Onpu was happier than ever before, but at the same time sadder than ever before. She had finally danced with Tooru, but she knew that he would have to go back to the world he came from and then all this would be no more than another memory. But there was one more memory she wanted to have with him before he left again and she would make sure to get it.

So she let her hand rest on his cheek, got on her toes and planted a small and shy kiss on his lips. One more time was he caught in shock over the girl's weird behavior and one more time did he bow to her wishes. He crouched down so that she wouldn't have to stretch all that much and responded to her kiss.

Like this they were standing somewhere in Tokyo, in the middle of the rain, not able to let go of the others lips. And Onpu knew that this would become a wonderful, bittersweet memory.


	6. 91 drowning

**Sorry it took so long, but I had a few problems with this one. .Ghosts requested it and I realized that writing a HazukixFujio fiction isn't as easy as writing pretty much everything else is. So please TAG, tell me if I did my job good. **

**Fujio is the first character I had to make a real character description for in order to understand how he works. This is what I came up with. It might not be how most of you like it, but thinking back to the VERY few episodes in which the center was on Fujio, he just seemed like this to me. Do you remember it, when he was all gentle and nice at first but went cold, creepy and calculating the moment Hazuki didn't look? That's what made me think. I thought in and out and in and out and MAN, that guy is complicated. Well, let's see if I did a good job.**

**Also, this one might be a bit harder to understand. You'll really have to keep on track for it. I couldn't decide if I should do a real drowning scene or let the word 'drowning' be a mataphor for something. I chose the second because it gave me more oppurtunity to play with Fujio's head. I REALLY have caught interest in him now**

**And I just realized that pretty much all my oneshots are all psycho like. I ought to write something less ... disturbing. Oh well, the next one shot will be a LeonxAiko and since they are such a lighthearted couple, doing that should be somewhat easy. Enough talking; enjoy!**

Title: 91 - Drowning  
>Characters: Fujio, Hazuki, Yada<br>Genre: I'm not even gonna try figuring that out -.-  
>Rating: T ... for safety ^^'<p>

It was as if he had been thrown into cold water when he first saw just how close they really were. She had looked at that guy with so much trust, so much hope and so much admiration that he immediately had to write this down. Who would have known that you can read a human's emotions just by looking into their eyes? Yet, Fujio hadn't liked it at all for some reason.

Of all of the FLAT 4, Fujio was most like Akatsuki. He was cold as ice, he was somebody who would calculate every move he made and he was the perfect actor. The only difference between the two of them was that Akatsuki's planning was different than his. For starters, Akatsuki was even colder than him, but he was more precise in his calculations. He would gather data on everything and use this data to manipulate his opponent in every extent. He was the only one who was equal to the prince when it came to playing chess.

For some reason, Fujio had never written down anything about himself. Yet, he had a complete notebook that was overflowing with data just about _her._ There was something about her that was fascinating him, which is why he watched her all the time, even now when she was walking so happily next to that guy. And again, it was as if he was in that icy cold water and was unable to move.

One thing about her that fascinated him was how she was always so happy to be around that guy, even though he was the meanest brute Fujio had ever encountered. In his opinion, she would fit much better with him. After all, they were both very soft natured … at least it seemed like he was on the outside. They both loved reading and learning new things, although he enjoyed it mostly because he could use that knowledge against others.

Maybe they weren't so similar after all. And yet, she somehow managed to change him. Why that was, was one of the things that Fujio had never managed to find out, which is another reason why she fascinated him so much. Still; a gentle, quiet, shy, smart and musical creature like her being together with a rude, mean, troublesome bad boy like him? What was it about him that fascinated her so much and what was it about himself that didn't fascinate as she fascinated him?

Now, every time he saw that boy he wished for nothing more but to tear him apart right then and there. He would have to be careful or else his cold side would come to light and he would drive her away from him even further. But was being careful really good enough? After all, every time he saw him it felt like a spear of ice had pierced right through his heart and every time she saw the two together, it felt as if he were in the water, unable to move and unable to save himself from drowning.

Yes, he was drowning and he couldn't save himself. She was being crueler than he had ever been and she didn't even notice it. How could she not notice it? How could she not notice the fury when she hid behind that guy as if hoping he would protect her from him? How could she not notice how he never quite managed to tear himself away from her whenever the two just so happened to spend time together? How could she not notice how he clutched his chest and shot the boy that was always at her side death glares whenever they were together and looking all happy?

It sickened him so much that he thought he would have to throw up. And when he realized just what he was doing, he tried to get himself back under control as fast as possible. After all, she was no more than a source of observation, right?

Wrong! She was so much more and he wouldn't be able to deny it for much longer. It was as if she had jinxed him and that jinx would be the end of him if he didn't find a way out of it soon.

Or maybe he couldn't find a way out of it at all. As he watched the girl that fascinated him so much and the boy he hated so much laughing and smiling as they walked down the streets, a bad feeling spread in his chest; the feeling that she was the only one who would be able to pull him back out of the water and keep him from drowning.

But just what exactly was he drowning in? It certainly wasn't information, that much was clear. He would always be able to handle every data he gathered, no matter how weird it seemed to him. Maybe it was the fact that she fascinated him so much, or rather _how_ much she fascinated him. But Fujio still didn't think that was right, although it did come pretty close. Was it the immense hate that he felt for the boy she seemed to like so much? No, that wasn't it. He was close, but still not quite there.

And as he watched her taking that boys hand and leaning happily against him, he clutched his chest and gritted his teeth. There was the icy cold water again and the feeling that he could no longer breathe. Just what was that feeling? It was something that he had never, ever felt before. In an attempt to hide every emotion, his face became empty and his eyes closed. Then, he took out his little notebook and looked at every single bit of data he gathered. His eyes fell upon a woman that he had once observed when the man that she had loved had died in a car accident. She had crouched over the dead body, she had cried and had clutched her chest just like he had done it just a few moments ago. She had screamed and yelled and didn't seem to be able to keep herself on her own two feet anymore. She had looked as if she was hurting terribly. And then it hit him;

He was drowning in pain!


	7. 69 Annoyance

**Sorry for the long wait, everybody. It took a while, but my B-Level exams are finally over. I even managed to be in the top quarter of the class, YAY. Anyways, now that I have time again, you can expect more of these oneshots to appear. Also, please don't mind making requests of all kinds of things. I'm eager to try out everything and I'm sure you guys can think of stuff that I never would have dreamed of. As for CutiePie1998, this is the AikoxLeon fic you requested, so please review and tell me if this is to your likings.**

Title: 69 Annoyance  
>Characters: Aiko; Leon<br>Genre: Friendship, Comedy, Romance  
>Rating: K+, although it might be T<p>

"I challenge you!"

He just suddenly jumped in front of her. Had he actually been waiting until she left the house? Nah, no way he would do such a thing. That would make him a stalker. Coming to think of it … maybe it wasn't that ridiculous after all. Aiko sweatdropped. There was no way she would take on his challenge. Or rather, he had chosen the worst time to challenge her. After all, it was seven in the morning and the blue haired had neither the time nor the patience to put with a wannabe sports star like him.

"Get lost", she simply said and walked on, leaving the blond boy standing where he was.

It was clear that Leon wouldn't let her pass just like that, but hey, one could still hope, right? So when he caught up to her and almost threw the basketball into her face, she simply sighed and rubbed her temples. Every day. Why did he have to do that every single day? Didn't he ever learn? No matter how often he challenged her, nothing would change. He would always be the loser, she would always be the winner. So what kept him going?

"What's wrong Ai-chan? Are you going to chicken out because you know you can't beat me?"

Usually, that would have been enough to get her to take the challenge, but seriously, it was Saturday and it was seven in the morning. As if it wasn't bad enough that she had to get up this early on a Saturday, to deal with him was something she did _not_ have the strength for. So she simply took the ball and slammed it right into his face, hard enough to knock him out for the next few hours.

"I toldya to get lost, didn't I?" she simply said and went on.

There was hardly anybody on the streets. Of course there wasn't. It was too early. But Aiko had no time to spare. She had to keep going. She didn't even pay attention to all the parts of Misora she shared memories with. It was too early to even think. Maybe she would have been halfway awake if her father had been home, but he had to pull the nightshift, so he was still fast asleep and he would stay this way for the next few hours. But that was okay. Aiko knew how to take care of herself, one of few ups of being the daughter of a taxi-driver.

"I challenge you, Ai-chan!"

Not again. Did that guy even know what 'giving up' means? Since his voice came from behind, Aiko turned to him after letting go of a very, _very _deep sigh. This time, he was holding two badminton rackets in his hand. It was quarter past seven, he had been knocked out once already and he was still wearing that stupid grin on his face. What kind of freak was he? Still, she had to give him credits for recovering that fast. His face did seem a bit flatter, though. Somehow, seeing that satisfied the sports girl.

"I ain't got time for ya today", Aiko sighed.

"Don't talk nonsense. You always need to have time for your biggest rival", Leon grinned.

Aiko sweatdropped again. Since when had the two of them been rivals? It was usually him challenging her and her beating him into a pulp. What part of that was rivalry? One of the girl's eyes twitched. Trying her best not let loose her temper, she walked to the boy in front of her, took one of the rackets and slammed it over his head, knocking him out in the process again.

"And this time; stay down", she growled.

She walked on. The closer she came to her destination, the more people she saw. That wasn't surprising, seeing that her destination was the Misora Central Station. It was always pretty busy there. To her, it was familiar. She was here so often, whether it was because she was travelling herself or because she was picking someone up. Everything here was so familiar that she didn't have to look for the time her train would depart; she already knew. It was only half past seven, so there was still some time left. A hot chocolate would be just right. Although it was almost summertime, the mornings were still rather chilly. Maybe she would get herself something to eat as well. She couldn't eat her bento yet. After all, she had made it especially for later.

"I challenge you!"

Okay, now it was getting ridiculous. In only a half an hour, he had challenged her twice and had been knocked out twice and yet he was challenging her again. That guy really didn't know how to take care of himself. Didn't he know that he would just get knocked out again? Aiko rubbed her temples before looking at him. He had a bump on his head and his face still seemed a bit flat. But he was grinning and his foot was resting on a rather small soccer ball.

"This is the perfect place for street soccer", Leon explained. "It's about running around all kinds of obstacles and trying not get the ball taken away."

"No thanks", Aiko said annoyed.

"Aww, come on, Ai-chan. I even went through the trouble of following you here."

That's exactly where the problem was. He was following her everywhere, challenging him in every sport at every time. He always lost, but he kept coming back. It didn't matter what she did to him or how badly she injured him, he was always coming at her. Why couldn't he just leave her alone? What did she have to do to get rid of that annoyance?

"Ai-chan. Hey, Ai-chan."

'Ai-chan' was seriously ticked now. Before Leon even knew what had happened, she had stolen the ball from under his foot and slammed it against his head. He staggered for a few moments before he collapsed again. Another bump appeared on his forehead. The blue haired sighed again and went to buy some hot chocolate and some mamedaifuku, leaving the blonde wizard lying where he was. She didn't even mind all the scared and curious looks she got from passerby's. For some reason, though, nobody seemed to mind the passed out blonde.

"Serves ya right", Aiko muttered.

A half an hour later, the train departed. Aiko finally allowed herself to rest and sat down at the window. There weren't many people, so there was enough space. For the first time this day, Aiko smiled a small smile. In only two hours she would be at her destination. She could wait that long. Today was going to be a good day. Everything was going to be perfect.

Suddenly feeling a chill, Aiko looked around. No, he wasn't here. There was no way he could be. She had knocked him out thrice and he was still knocked out when she had entered the train. There was no point in worrying about it, so she forced herself to relax. It worked.

"There ain't no way he'd be here", she whispered to herself and leaned against the window.

"Ai-chan, I challenge you!"

"Ya have got ta be kidding me", Ai moaned in annoyance.

He was standing in the middle of the hallway this time and he didn't have any equipment with him. His face was still a bit flat and there were two bumps on his head, but he was still grinning. Why? Why was she being punished like that? What did it take to get that guy to give up?

"Well, Ai-chan? You versus me, the one who wins is the better one."

"We're on a train, ya thickheaded idiot. What could we possibly be doin' here?"

Leon's grin got even bigger. "Hehe! Can't you see? This is the perfect place to be parcouring!"

This was a bad dream, this was a bad dream, this was a bad dream. In reality, she was still at home, sleeping. She was not sitting in a train, being challenged by the biggest annoyance of her life to be parcouring in it. No, something like that couldn't be possible.

"Well, Ai-chan? What do you say? Are you gonna accept my challenge?"

"STOP JOKING AROUND!" Aiko yelled and kicked the blonde wizard head, knocking him out again.

"Seriously", she huffed before sitting back down.

She tried to pout and just forget that he was here. The thing she would love to do most right now was to just throw him out of the window, but he was too heavy and she would have to use magic for that, so that wasn't going to happen. No, the best thing would be to just keep him lying where he was.

But then why was it that her eyes kept darting back to the boy lying so pitifully beat up on the floor. Aiko really did try her best to just ignore him, forget that he had ever existed. That would definitely be the best thing to do. If only she could.

"This really sucks", the girl growled from the bottom of her lungs.

Still, she stood up, walked to the wizard and pulled him on the seat next to the one she was sitting. She even allowed him to rest his head on her lap. Really, why was she being so kind? It wasn't like he deserved it or anything it definitely wasn't because she liked him. He was just too pitiful to watch, that was all there was to it. He was just a huge annoyance that she would love to kick back to the world he came from. The only problem was to make sure he'd stay there.

Aiko forced herself not to look down at him when he stirred. There was no reason she should. She didn't care about him after all. It was enough to watch him from the corner of her eyes when he opened his own. Aiko looked out the window again. He was going to be fine, so there was no longer a point in watching him. But if he was awake, then why didn't he move it? Having that guy lay on her lap was really just annoying.

She looked at him one more time only to see him staring back at her. There was no grin on his face this time, not even a smile. The expression on his face was serious, if only a little bit curious. Again, Aiko shifter her gaze back to the window. With time, the feeling of his stare became more and more intense, which actually caused her to blush. It was the low chuckle that followed which made her snap.

"What's so funny?" she asked grumpily.

"You're actually pretty cute when you blush", was the answer she got.

That only made her blush even more, but it also angered her even more. She had better not say anything now or she would completely explode. So she fixed her gaze on the view outside the window, determined to completely ignore the young wizard resting on her lap. Only, doing that would have been a lot easier if he hadn't started poking into her cheek.

He poked once.

He poked twice.

Poke. Poke. Poke.

"WILL YA STOP THAT ALREADY?" Aiko yelled.

Leon only blinked. "But it's fun."

"Is that the reason why ya keep pestering me with yer challenges? 'Cause it's fun? Yer annoying the living daylights outta me, ya'know! I'm neither yer rival nor yer friend. I can't even stand'ya."

There was a long silence after that. Aiko looked back out the window and Leon gaze at the ceiling, not even thinking about moving from his position. She didn't ask him, either. By now, she didn't really care what he doing anymore anyways.

"There's a reason I wanna win so badly against you", the blonde suddenly said.

Aiko looked back at him and crooked an eyebrow.

"If I can't defeat you, I feel like I'm not worthy of being close to you. But I really want to be close to you, so the only thing I can do is to keep challenging you."

Again, the blue haired blushed a bit. "That's a stupid reason", she said. "If that's really how ya feel, then you should train more instead of challenging me all the time."

"I've tried doing that, but whenever I train on my own, I can't concentrate because I keep thinking of how great it would be not to feel unworthy anymore."

Shit. She couldn't really say anything against that. Now what?

"Fine", she huffed. "I get it already. But today and tomorrow, I wanna spend precious time with my mother, so don't bother me with yer stupid challenges until I'm back in Misora."

Leon blinked at her perplexed for a few seconds, before a huge grin made its way on his face.

"B'sides", Aiko went on, "There's hardly anybody out there who can keep up with me as good as you do, so there's really no reason to feel unworthy. It's nonsense. Ya can be my friend even if ya don't manage to defeat me."

"Ai-chan…"

Tears welled up in Leon's eyes as he looked up at the blue haired sports girl. She was always acting tough, be she could be so kind as well. It made him admire her even more. Finally, he moved from his position and hugged her tightly, letting his tears flow freely.

"Ai-chan", he cried. "You're so kind, Ai-chan, so nice …"

Although clearly annoyed and definitely not pleased, she let the wizard do as he wished, blushing just a tiny bit t the close contact. She would never admit it, but beside from being an idiot, he also had guts and she admired that. Now if only he would stop pouring his tears all over her.

"So annoying", she growled.


	8. 106 Confusion

**I have some big news for you, people; I'm alive! DUN DUN DUUUUUN!**

**I know I've been gone for a while, but since this isn't a coherent story, I guess the damage is kept to a minimum. I already have two more shots on the line, but I don't know when they'll be out,**

**One of them is the request from Guardien angala, who requested a oneshot featuring Aiko and Hana. The other one is the request from MintCookieMonsterr (I still think that's a weird name), who requested another Doremi and Hana fic. As I said, they're both on the way, but I might do a little something of my own in between. I finally found the subbed version of Dokkan (though only german subs) and now I'm full of new ideas. **

**This one here is one of them. It's not exactly a KotaDore, even though it does feature the two of them. It's just something I needed to get over my writers block and empty my head a little. But I will do a real KotaDore sooner or later because I think those two need some love as well.**

**To all those who have requested some kind of OjamajoxFlat4; I have them included in one of the two shots I'm writing right now, but that will be it for a while. I will NOT be writing anymore traditional OjamajoxFlat4 for a while, so stop requesting it. I know they're awesome, but I want some variety in this collection of oneshots. **

**Oh, and to PippElulu and RoseQuartz1; please stop writing all your reviews in capital letters. Every review I see of the two of you, here and in other stories, is typed almost only in capital letters. It's annoying, irritating and probably gives off a very wrong picture of the two of you. I'm very happy that the two of you review so many stories, but you can do it normally and if you really wanna be of help, a little critically. Thank you.**

**Now enough talking and let's get on with the story.**

I do not own Ojamajo Doremi nor any of it's characters.

Title: 106 – confusion  
>Characters: Kotake, Doremi<br>Genre: Uhhh …  
>Rating: K …. Again -.-<p>

I love you …

Once those words were out, Tetsuya Kotake lost his fear of showing Doji … sorry, Doremi his affection. He still did it very clumsily and always in a bit of a rude manner. It happened often that he would start a fight with her or hestitate to a point where it was almost insulting to Doremi. Old habits die hard after all.

For as long as she could think, Doremi had been running after boys that were the polar opposite of Kotake. She wanted them to be good looking, tall, polite, perhaps a year or two older than herself, sporty, quiet and maybe just a little bit on the mysterious side. Again, Kotake was none of that. But she always said 'yes' when he asked her out and whether she liked it or not, she couldn't say she didn't enjoy his company.

Something else Doremi had done ever since she could think, was that she never bothered thinking about anything too much, instead focusing on the situation at hand and on what was important. For example; her beloved Hana-chan had been taking by Akatsuki, the person she had had a crush on at that time. Then he had given her back. That's all that had mattered. There was no use brooding over what he had done or why he had done it. In the end, the only thing that mattered was that he had given Hana-chan back to her, showing that he was no longer an enemy … or maybe he never was. That's why she had been able to accept him as her friend again.

Why couldn't it be the same with Kotake? He had said he loved her. He had never taken back those words. And even though he did it very roughly and clumsily, he really did try his best to show her his affection. So the one fact that mattered was that he had really meant what he said; he did love her. But for the very first time, she no longer knew what to do or what to think. She had lost sight of what was important.

That had only happened twice before; the first time was when Akatsuki had taken Hana, the one situation that had tore up her heart more than anything. She had fallen into a stupor, because only for a short moment, not knowing what was important. Akatsuki had turned out an enemy. He had betrayed her. He had played with her. He had taken Hana-chan. He had taken her precious Hana-chan. And everyone was fighting. But she didn't want to believe any of it. None of this was real.

Her friends had snapped her out of it and she had gathered the facts again. Akatsuki had taken Hana-chan and she had to get her back. But she didn't want to fight him, so she simply wouldn't. She still believed that they could be friends. She would get her feelings for Hana-chan through to him, no matter what. That was all there was to it. That was what mattered. And according to that, she acted.

The second time was when she had gotten to know Majo Mia, a person that had fascinated and entranced her to a point where she would have gone anywhere with her. Majo Mia had shown her how to make glass and she had taught her what it really meant to be a witch in the human world. She had said many things Doremi didn't understand until this very day and she had shown her many things that she never quite managed to comprehend. But she had also shown and told her things that she did understand and Doremi had learned a lot from that wise and mysterious woman. Her view on the world had shifted only a little bit.

It hadn't been that long after Doremi had gotten to know Majo Mia that the witch had to leave again. It seemed that the weird fascination that Doremi held for Mia was based on reciprocity, since Mia had asked Doremi, a sixth grader, if she wanted to go to Venice with her. That had thrown the redhead into her longest fit of silence yet. It had gone on for almost 24 hours and it would have been longer if there hadn't been a deadline. Doremi had wanted to go with her. She had wanted to get to know Mia's way of life and she still did. She had wanted to say 'Yes, I want to go to Venice with you. I want to go everywhere with you, so take me wherever you want to go. Show me everything you've seen and teach me everything you know." It would have been easier if that hadn't meant leaving her family and friends forever. They were in the way of her simple decision and it took a long time for Doremi to decide what was more important; her dreams and wishes or staying with the people she loved.

This would have been the end of Doremi's uncharacteristic behavior. But it had ended differently; Majo Mia had been gone before Doremi had even had the chance to say goodbye.

Her situation with Kotake was … different from both of them. He loved her. She didn't know what she should think of this fact or even feel about this fact. And unlike with Mia, Doremi had all the time in the world to think. It was a weird situation. So whenever Doremi's thoughts drifted to Kotake, she fell silent and wouldn't talk or even react to anything until someone could take her out of her stupor. But unlike those last few times, her thoughts were not driven by emotion. That was what usually drove her thoughts anyways. No, this time, since she didn't know just what to feel, they were driven by logic.

Because of that, they ran in circles. Kotake and Doremi had been friends forever. It was a weird kind of friendship that consisted of fighting, brawling and teasing each other. But if one of them were ever in trouble, their real relationship would show and they would help each other with incredible kindness. It was only after Kotake had confessed to her that she had realized this.

They were so incredibly close and she had never noticed. To her, what mattered was either that Kotake was teasing her or that Kotake was in trouble. That had always been it for her, but obviously not for Kotake. For him, their relationship had developed and he had fallen for her. For her, it had stayed the same throughout the years.

There was the next point that confused Doremi. Kotake, a boy, actually liked her. Up until now, she had always liked a boy and he didn't like her back. That was what was important, that was always what had mattered. With Akatsuki, she had the feeling that he might just like her back. It had been easy; she liked him, but didn't know if he liked her. Therefore, the only thing to do was to appreciate his kindness until she was ready to confess.

Once more, things were a little different with Kotake. He liked her, but she didn't know what to think of this situation. That's why she couldn't see the things that mattered. She was back at the point she had started. It was incredibly frustrating and the more time she spend with Kotake, the more she would fall into periods of utter and complete silence. Sometimes, the circles her thoughts ran in were bigger, sometimes smaller, depending on the things she had seen or heard recently. But soon, she had cleared everything she could by comparing her situation with Akatsuki to her situation with Kotake and slowly, the first of the two boys drifted out of her mind.

Luckily, Kotake was being very patient with Doremi … in his own way. It was almost as if he had known this side of Doremi all along and had enough experience with it to handle it fairly easily. He still called Doremi 'Dojimi' and that alone was mostly enough to get her out of her stupor, even if only just for a little while. She would get angry at him and chase him around and he would grin at that. And since Doremi noticed what their weird friendship really consisted of, she started enjoying those chases as well.

But he only did that to get her attention, for example when he wanted to ask her out. Often, he would just walk next to her, not saying anything as if knowing that she needed this time to sort her out the mess in her head and heart. Sometimes, her gaze would fall on him and she would look at him so intensely that he couldn't help but blush. Sometimes he would react and sometimes he didn't.

"Kotake, why do you love me?" She had once asked him.

It was one of those times when a mix between embarrassment and old habits would get the better of Kotake and he would start getting rude. Instead of answering her questions, he had taunted and teased her, but Doremi was seemingly unaffected. That was only the case when she asked him those weird questions and that, as much as he hated to admit it, was something he couldn't really handle. Instead of throwing a tantrum like he usually did when getting into a fight, he would fall silent and become very insecure. Whenever they were walking, he would let Doremi take the lead and somehow, she always ended up in front of the Mahou Dou. Hadn't she once said that troubled people automatically ended up in front of it? So whenever that happened, Kotake started asking himself what exactly it was that she was thinking about so intensely.

"How do you know you love me?"

"What exactly do you think 'love' is?"

"When did you realize you love me?"

"Why is love so important?"

"Are there different versions of love?"

Those were the kind of questions that would conjure up that situation. And once he fell silent, Kotake would start thinking about answers. At some point, he realized that the questions Doremi asked were very smart questions. You see, Doremi, unbeknownst to anybody, probably even herself, was actually a pretty smart girl that was just never forced to use her head. Sure, she was not good at calculating and learning stuff by heart, but those weren't the only things that made a person smart. Kotake however, did know that, so he soon stopped trying to figure on what was going on in his crush's head and just waited until she found whatever answer she was looking for.

Until then, he would take her out on dates, annoy her every now and then to distract her, get into fights with her, get rude every now and then because he didn't know a better way to deal with his embarrassment or just stay silent, allowing Doremi to wallow in her thoughts. But all the while, he tried his best to stay himself, the way the two of them grew up, as if to show Doremi that, even if his feelings for her had changed, he was still the same guy.

All this did not go unnoticed by the girl in question. A big part of the things she were thinking of originated in observing Kotake, hence the times she would just stare at him for minutes, if not even hours. Sometimes, she made it obvious so he knew she was looking at him, sometimes she did it while he was busy with something else. But no matter how much she thought, her mind kept running in circles. She would fall silent more frequently and it got harder and harder to get her out of these stupors, even for Kotake. It didn't take long until she didn't even react to him calling her 'Dojimi' anymore. And that's when Kotake finally started getting worried. At some point, his patience ran out and he started to wish that the old Doremi, the girl he fell in love with, would come back.

It was sometime after that, that Doremi had led the two to the Mahou Dou once again. Kotake had counted. It was the twenty fifth time. An anniversary. The perfect time to end this madness. He took Doremi by the wrist and sat them both down on the small stairs that led to the entrance of the magic shop.

"Stop sulking and tell me what's wrong already!"

Although his words were harsh, his tone was light, showing the redhead that he didn't mean any harm.

"I was already wondering why you never asked that."

"I just thought you'd get over it yourself, but apparently, little Dojimi is too stupid to do even that."

This time, the words were meant to make her mad. The lean snicker that he put behind them only strengthened that fact. But Doremi didn't react and as always, Kotake started feeling insecure around the girl. It was a very strange feeling and he didn't like it at all. For a long while, there was silence between the two.

"Couldn't you just tell me what the problem is?" Kotake finally broke it.

"To be honest, I'm not sure myself anymore."

"Huh?"

"You said you love me and I know you mean it. It's as simple as that. But for some reason, it isn't. It's really complicated even though I don't see a problem. It's giving me a real headache. I don't know what to think or what to feel or how to react. I guess I'm just kind of … lost."

"Is that it?"

Doremi looked up at the boy sitting next to her. There was this really weird expression on his face, like she had just told him that his mother was the devil … which might actually be true, but that was beside the point.

"Doremi, do you hate me?" Kotake asked seriously.

Doremi shook her head no. No, she didn't hate him; that much she was sure of. The more she had thought about their relationship, the more she had come to realize that she liked Kotake a lot. He was a solid part of her life and he gave it a bit of spice.

"Do you love me?"

Doremi blushed a bit, but stayed silent. She thought for a little while and then opened her mouth to answer. But Kotake was faster and interrupted her before she had even started.

"Answer honestly!"

"I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not."

That was the honest answer, but as the boy next to her grinned down to her like that, she started to wonder if she might not have been so honest after all.

"Then here's the answer you're looking for. I love you, but you don't know what you feel. You might love me back, you might not. Just do what you always do and stop thinking about all the details. Thinking doesn't suit you anyways. It's what matters that's important, right?"

"But I don't know what matters anymore …"

Kotake laughed at that.

"What matters is that you don't have an answer yet, so where's the point in trying to force one up? The heart needs time Doremi, so you have to be patient."

Kotake was right. The point she had been in at the very beginning of her thoughts was what was important. Everything else was just unnecessary, confusing detail. He loved her, but she didn't know what to do now. That was all that mattered. Thinking about it wouldn't get her anywhere, because her heart didn't have the answers yet. Thinking logical in matters that involved emotions was nonsense. Her heart would find the answer eventually and until then, it would be best to do what Kotake had been doing all along; just stay the way they were now until the day she would be able to say 'I love you' as well.

And seeing how Kotake could be so kind if he wanted to, it might not be that long. But Doremi didn't want to think about that anymore. She might just confuse the two of them even more.


	9. 61 Fairy Tale

**Phew, this is a long one. More than 10.000 words. It took me a whole while to finish it, but I am rather proud of it. I hope you guys enjoy it as well.**

**MintCookieMonterr, this is the request you made, featuring Hana and Doremi, the topic being Fairy Tale. Please comment and tell me if it was to your liking. I also added a bit of romance between the Ojamajo's and the Flat 4, since I won't be doing that for a while. Therefore, I can say that this fic is also dedicated to our hardcore OjamajoXFlat4 shippers out there; PippElulu and Charmed Ojamajo. All the others who love them, cherish this one-shot because it's as I said; you won't be getting them in a while.**

**Now, I have two more requests coming (one of them is going to be totally different to what I usually do). Those who have requested them know what I'm talking about and those who don't will just have to wait until they're out. I'll try not to make you guys wait too long.**

**Also: ONLY 5 MORE EPISODES UNTIL OJAMAJO DOREMI IS COMPLETELY SUBBED (in german language). I CAN'T WAIT! I might just start a really long fic once it's done^^. I just don't know which one yet. So this is a plea to everyone who's actually taking the time to read this; go to my page, where you'll find the description of the stories I want to write. You'll find four different Doremi fics listed there. Read their descriptions write a comment here and tell me which one you think I should be doing.**

**Aaaaand … I think I've rambled enough, so now it's time to enjoy the story. See ya around.**

**Title: 61-family  
>Characters: the cast here is big, so I'll narrow it down to the main cast; Doremi and Hana<br>Genre: I dunno … Family perhaps?  
>Rating: Let's make this one T, just in case<strong>

"Cinderella almost jumped down the stairs, hoping dearly that she would be down in time.

Wait she cried when she reached the last stairs. Please wait. I haven't tried on the shoe yet!

The ambassador stopped in his tracks and turned around. He doubted that the girl, wearing nothing but rags, could be the mysterious girl the prince was fantasizing about. And yet, when he looked closer, there seemed to be some kind of hidden beauty beneath those old and dirty clothes. So he walked to the girl, bowed before and held out the glass slipper for her to slip in. It fit perfectly.

You're the one the ambassador breathed.

Nobody wasted any time. Cinderella was taken to the castle, much to the disliking of her stepmother and stepsisters. The prince, although Cinderella was still wearing rags, recognized the girl immediately and ordered to set up the marriage, having finally found his one and only princess.

The marriage was celebrated largely. It went on for three nights and three days

And Cinderella? She never had to work or listen to her stepsisters yelling ever again. She and the prince loved each other dearly and soon became the king and the queen of the beautiful land.

And so, they lived happily ever after.

The end"

Little Hana squealed in delight and clapped her hands cutely. It was the very first time her mama Doremi had decided to read her a fairytale and Hana was absolutely mesmerized by it. Doremi was very proud of herself for coming up with the idea. She smiled down at her 'daughter' lovingly and made her ready for bed. And that was when Hana's mood dropped.

"Now don't be stubborn Hana-chan. It's time for you to go to bed. It's already late."

But Hana wanted to be stubborn. Just like any other child, the blonde baby was not a fan going to bed. At first, she only pouted and squeaked in protest, but soon, it developed into a huge fit and Doremi had her fair trouble calming the future witch queen down. The more spoiled Hana acted, the more Doremi was on edge of her patience, until …

"Hana-chan, if you don't stop this nonsense right now, I will have Majo Rika and Lala look after you for tonight!"

That made Hana freeze. She was used to having one of her mamas stay by her side, softly humming or singing her favorite lullaby until she was sound asleep. Therefore, having that luxury taken away and being watched by the frog and the fairy was a severe punishment. It was so severe, that instead of throwing another tantrum, Hana's eyes started to get teary.

But Doremi didn't even think of budging; she did what every good mother would do; stay firm when their children are misbehaving. As the baby looked at her mother with tears in her eyes, Doremi stared back coldly, silently promising Hana that she would not let her threat go empty. Hana's following reaction was that she started bawling her eyes out, screaming loud enough for the entire house to hear. And thus, Doremi had her threat come true.

A half an hour later, Hana was sobbing quietly, listening to the noises Doremi and the others made while closing off the flower shop. It was time to go home and Doremi would not stay to sing Hana to sleep.

"Listen Hana," Majo Rika said, "this is your own fault for being so spoiled. If you had done what Doremi said and gone to sleep quietly, then she would still be here with you."

Hana was in no mood to listen. She just laid there, unmoving, in the little bed that had grown into the tree, not even looking at Majo Rika or Lala. While tears were still running down her face, she was pouting out of stubbornness, not wanting to admit that her mother was in the right.

Finally, the witch … or witch-frog … and the fairy gave up with a big sigh and floated out of the room, leaving Hana all to herself.

"Good night, Hana", Lala said one last time before turning out the lights.

And they were finally gone. Immediately, Hana stopped crying and pouting and looked around, making sure that nobody was there. When she was sure, the little ponytail on Hana's head started twitching and the balls started glowing. A book appeared out of nowhere and it landed safely right in front of Hana. One more time, the ponytail twitched and one more time, the balls glowed. A bright light filled the Mahou Dou and once it was gone, the flower shop was empty. As for Doremi, Hazuki, Aiko and Onpu; all traces of them had disappeared.

All this was seen by four pairs of watchful eyes, belonging to the four youngsters of the wizard world. Once the girls were gone, they abandoned their hideout and walked into the Mahou Dou, exploring it from every angle. But not until a certain purple haired prince found the book lying in Hana's bed did they find any clues as to where the girls might have disappeared to.

"Hey guys, come here!" Akatsuki yelled.

The other three boys were by his side immediately, eying the little book in their leader's hand with a lot of curiosity.

"There's a lot of magical energy coming from this book", Fujio stated.

"Akatsuki, you don't think that they might have …" Tooru started, but a very confident, very scary smile from the purple haired made him stop.

"That's exactly what I think, Tooru", Akatsuki answered. "And we're going to do the same thing."

You're joooking", Leon said in his wretched English.

"I'm not joking. Come on, let's go!"

As he said this, the two outstanding strands of hair on Akatsuki's head twitched. The same happened with the other three and in a matter of seconds, they had completely disappeared, while the book fell on the floor noisily.

* * *

><p>"CINDERELLA!"<p>

Doremi shot up in her bed. Cinderella? Why was somebody yelling for Cinderella? And who was knocking on her door so wildly? ... Wait, that wasn't her door. Looking around, the redhead realized she wasn't even in her room. The room she was in was small and dirty and the bed she was laying in was uncomfortable and stuffed with straw. What was going on here?

"CINDERELLA, GET UP THIS INSTANT!" Again, the person knocked on the door.

"Eh?"

Slowly, things started to dawn on Doremi. She looked down on herself and found that she was covered in dirty, torn rugs. How was it that all of this seemed so awfully familiar? Realization finally hit her. That person on the other side of the door was talking to her. She was Cinderella.

"CINDERELLA, IF YOU DON'T GET TO WORK RIGHT NOW THERE WILL BE SEVERE PUNISHMENT!"

Hastily, Doremi jumped out of bed, had her foot caught up in the sheets and fell headfirst to the floor.

"I'm coming", she yelled while her head still tried to figure out how she had landed in this mess.

As fast as she could, she freed her foot, put on some shoes, and tied her messy hair into only one bun, as she couldn't find a second clip. All that took her less than a minute and since the wild knocking never stopped, she bolted out the door as fast as she could, only to run straight into Majo Rika, who was, as always, sitting on a floating dustpan. The next few seconds, Doremi tried to separate the magical frog from her face and it only worked, when two more pair of hands helped.

Once Majo Rika was finally back on her dustpan, Doremi opened her eyes and saw two of her friends behind the witch-frog: the blue-haired sports girl Aiko and her oldest friend, the smart but quiet Hazuki. Both were wearing beautiful dresses in the style of the European baroque. Doremi could only stare until Majo Rika decided to put an end to it.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE GUAFFING LIKE A MONKEY! YOU HAVE WORK TO DO."

"YES MAM!" Doremi answered automatically and stiffened.

"You have more chores than usual today and you're already late. Now go feed the animals, clean the stalls, wash our clothes and scrub the floors. Once you're done with that, come and help us get ready for the ball", Majo Rika barked.

"Yes mam", the red-haired piped and ran past the witch and her two friends to get to work.

However, seeing that the protagonist of the story was Doremi, pretty much everything went wrong. She mixed up the food for the animals, most of the horse's poop landed on the floors and the clothes ended up dirtier than before. The only thing that the red-head actually managed to clean were the floors. By the time Doremi was finished with the housework, Majo Rika had screamed herself mute with frustration.

Hazuki and Aiko weren't much better. When getting the two ready for the ball, none of them wanted to be last, so they kept pulling their 'step-sister' to themselves.

"Cinderella, ya have ta do my hair first."

"Cinderella, please make fitting me in my dress your first priority."

"Cinderella, my make up needs to be done."

In the middle of tending to Hazuki's hair, Doremi froze, remembering that she wasn't actually Cinderella and that she didn't actually have to do what Majo Rika and her friends told her to do. She was wasting time by playing this stupid little game.

"Why am I even doing this?" she mumbled to herself. "I have to go find a way out of here."

"Cinderella, please don't stop. My hair needs to be done soon or we'll be late for the ball."

Automatically, the red-head went back to work before she even realized what she was doing. But when thinking about her situation, she realized that she had no clue how to get out of this story. From the looks of it, she was the only one who knew that she wasn't part of this story. And since Majo Rika, Hazuki and Aiko were here, did that mean that Onpu was here to? Maybe even Lala and Hana?

Two full hours of being pushed around later, Doremi was finally finished getting her two friends ready. They were polished and ready to go and the unlucky witch had to admit that the two of them looked absolutely stunning. Hazuki's long, brown hair was put up in a big bun, decorated by flowers. Her dress was white and orange and rather simple, decorated only by a flower on her chest, two on her hips and one at her feet. There was also a corset around her waist.

Aiko's short hair was tied together on her left shoulder and she was dressed in different shades of blue and decorated with a ribbon on the left side of her waist, one around her neck a lot on the hem of her overdress and one in her hair. It was sleeveless, but her gloves were long. Doremi looked at the two of them and couldn't help but to be envious. They looked like princesses and she wished that she could be one of them.

"You stay here and correct all the mistakes you did today. If you manage to finish your chores and somehow manage to get a dress, then you may follow us." Majo Rika barked, before turning around and floating out of the house, her two daughters right behind her.

The door closed and Doremi took a huge breath, now that she actually had the time to do so. A few seconds past in which the red-head just stood there, gathering her thoughts. And then she exploded.

"WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON HERE?" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

There was a tiny giggle coming from above and Doremi's head shot up immediately. That giggle sounded awfully familiar. And for real, floating right above 'Cinderella's' head was a baby with blond hair and a single pigtail on the top of her head. She seemed nothing less but amused by the scene since her giggles never stopped. And that's when the gears in Doremi's head clicked.

"Hana-chan", the red-head's voice so quiet and calm that it was frightening. "Don't tell me you were the one who put us all in this story."

Hana stopped giggling immediately at the threatening sound of her mother's voice and gulped. She promptly decided that it was dangerous to stay this close to the clumsy girl any longer and flew away as fast as she could.

"HANA-CHAN!" Doremi yelled after her, but the blonde had already disappeared.

Exhausted and tired, the red-head sighed deeply and walked to the gardens, taking in the sweet air of the night. She never had to work this much before, not even in the Mahou Dou and her muscles were already starting to get sore. Not knowing what to do now, Doremi sat down on one of the cold stone benches. In the story, the fairy god-mother would appear at this point, so the only thing Doremi could think of doing was to wait for this to happen.

So she lied down on the bench and looked up at sky full of stars. A wide smile appeared on Doremi's face. It was very seldom that she, who lived in a big city, ever got to see so many stars in the sky. They shone in white, in yellow, in blue and in red and they were everywhere. It was a beautiful sight to behold and the reed-head stopped envying her two step-sisters. Let them go to the ball. She had the view of this incredible night sky.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" A voice said next to Doremi.

The witchling jumped in surprise and fell of her bench, head first on the cold stone floor. She cursed a tiny little bit under her breath and tried to pick herself up from the floor. Looking up, she saw a very familiar little being with long, curly, blond hair.

"Lala?" Doremi asked astounded. Was she the fairy godmother?

"Lala?" the fairy asked confused. "You must have hit your head hard my dear. I'm sorry for scaring you."

"Oh no, don't worry about it. I'm always a little clumsy."

Lala's head tilted to the side in confusion.

"If you say so …" she said unsure. "But allow me to introduce myself. I am your fairy godmother, my dear. I've been watching over you, so I know you've had a hard life. You wish to go to the ball, am I right?"

"Well …" Doremi trailed of, scratching the back of her head. "Actually, I wanted to find a way …"

"They serve steak there", Lala interrupted. "As much as you can eat."

"I WISH TO GO TO THE BALL!" Doremi suddenly yelled with stars in her eyes.

The little fairy giggled and pulled a wand out of nowhere. Gracefully, she soared high into the air, where she swung it and a beautiful carriage with four magnificent black stallions appeared out of nowhere. She soared back down to the carriage and had the tip of her wand touch the back and the front of it. The result was the appearance of two gentlemen who bowed to Doremi in perfect sync. To say the least; the red-head was swept of her feet. She was a witch apprentice and knew many witches, but she had never seen this kind of magic.

"Now what do I do with you?" Lala asked herself as she flew back to Doremi. "Oh, I know."

With a tiny swing of the wand, Doremi started changing. Her bun got loose and her hair was turned as shiny as it had never been before, before only the front strands of hair were pulled backwards, held together at the back of her head by a beautiful purple ribbon with a jewel in the middle. Her rags were falling apart and Doremi's body started to glow a bright shade of pink. Before the glowing stopped, the rags put themselves back together, this time forming a beautiful purple dress. It started at her chest, where a tiny ribbon with another jewel was situated, holding together the rosy 'sleeves' (for a better lack of word) that went from her chest straight to her arms, leaving a lot of chest and shoulders exposed. The purple overdress was skin tight from her chest down to her waist, where it parted and fell wide in soft creases. The underdress, that appeared were the overdress parted, was the same shade of a soft, rosy pink as the sleeves and at her back, just where the dress turned wide, was another purple ribbon that fell in the same soft creases the overdress did at the front. It was a dress more beautiful than Doremi had ever seen before. Then finally, the glowing stopped and Doremi's skin had gotten clean and smooth.

Doremi pulled up the hem of her dress and walked to the small backyard fountain. Her eyes got wide and she blushed when she looked into it. She could hardly believe what she was seeing.

"Is this … really me?" she asked in a small voice.

"It sure is" Lala answered. "Do you like it?"

"Yes!" Doremi cried. "I love it. Oh thank you so much."

"But I feel there's something missing."

Doremi stood still as the little fairy flew around her, examining her up and down. And finally, about a minute later, she found out what was missing. One last time did she swing her wand and a beautiful silver necklace appeared around the red-head's neck, decorated with many different jewels. Also, her feet were adorned with beautiful slippers, made out of purple glass. Now, Doremi's outfit was complete.

"There, you're all done", Lala smiled. "Now go and enjoy the ball. But you must be back before midnight, because that is when the magic stops."

"Yeah, yeah, I know that. Thanks for everything La … I mean fairy godmother." The clumsy girl beamed and disappeared into the carriage.

Immediately, gentleman number one hopped onto the front and took the reins, while gentleman number two hopped to the back. And thus, the carriage rode off, steadily making its way towards the castle. Doremi sat at the edge of her seat, watching the gigantic building coming closer and closer. She could hardly wait to get her steak.

Then finally, the carriage arrived. The gentleman sitting on the back of it jumped down and held the door open for Doremi to step out. As she did, she took the outstretched hand of that gentleman to help her down the few steps until she was safely at the ground. Once she was, the red-head exhaled. She had made it this far without ripping, dirtying or ruining her dress in some other way.

With sudden confidence, Doremi held up the hem of her dress and started walking towards the huge castle. But after only a few steps, a very familiar giggle came to the red-head's ears. Her head snapped upwards, just in time to see a tiny blonde baby floating around the corner. Before she disappeared out of sight, the clumsy witch apprentice ran after her, not tripping even once.

Hana flew to around one of the corners of the castle, her mother right on her heels. But when Doremi passed the corner as well, her little daughter was gone. The red-head was fuming and thought about using magic just to stop this nonsense. The only problem was … she didn't have her flower poron with her. While cursing inwardly, the clumsy witchling spotted a tiny little side door and her face lit up. This must have been where Hana disappeared to.

Without hesitation, Doremi walked through the side door into the humongous castle, only to find herself inside a labyrinth of hallways. The one she was in was going straight forward, but there were so many different doors and corners and Hana could have gone anywhere. But the red-head refused to drop her spirits and walked into the castle, calling for her little daughter. For all she knew, she might just get a reply.

* * *

><p>Onpu Segawa was without a doubt the biggest attraction at the party … for the moment at least. She looked absolutely stunning in her purple dress. It was simple, but elegant, brought forth all of her (not yet) existing curves and fell to the floor in big, elegant folds. It started at her chest and a beautiful silvery necklace with a purple gem adorned hung around her neck. Also, she was wearing long, light purple gloves.<p>

And if she didn't catch the attention of the crowd through her beauty, she caught it through her voice. For Onpu Segawa was the most well known Opera singer in the country and she had come all the way here to sing at the princes' birthday ball. A huge Orchestra was accompanying her and the people would either sit at their respective tables and listen to her while enjoying the tasty food, or would go to the dance floor and dance to their hearts contents to the beautiful music.

But even the one and only Onpu Segawa was put in the shadows when her song ended and the trumpeters announced the entrance of the true star of this ball. The biggest doors in the hall opened and in walked a young boy with purple hair and very princely attire, clad completely in white with a red sash adorning his chest. Right behind him were three other boys, not looking quite as princely but just as handsome. Everyone in the kingdom knew who those boys were; the prince and his closest entourage who would never leave his side.

They walked through the entire room, following the red carpet that had been laid out especially for them. Their heads were held high and it was only thanks to the many screams, squeals and whispers of the young and old women who had come to catch the eye of the prince, that the boys own whispers weren't heard by anybody but themselves. However, their walk was anything but uneventful.

"Fujio, what's going on here?" Akatsuki hissed furiously at his shortest friend.

"It appears as if we have taken over roles of the book we have teleported ourselves into." The orange haired boy whispered back.

"So … what kinda story is this?" Leon asked.

"It's a children's story that's very well known amongst the people of this world, following a young girl that has been mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters. But at the night of the ball of the prince's birthday, her fairy godmother appears and gives her the chance to go there. She goes there, capture's the attention of the prince through her beauty and dances with him all night long However, she must leave at midnight for that's when the magic will stop. But when she leaves, she loses her slipper and that's how the prince manages to find her. They marry and live happily ever after."

"Sounds like a nice story" Tooru sighed, his eyes glued on the Opera singer who bowed at them as they walked by.

He blushed when she stood up and smiled sweetly at him, giving him a glance at her full, beautiful attire. When their eyes met, the blue haired boy got uncharacteristically shy and turned his head away immediately. His eyes were glued to his own feet and his head was starting to burn up.

"And what roles did we take in this story?" Akatsuki continued his interrogation.

"It seems", Fujio said upon looking around the hall, "that you have taken over the role of the prince and we … the role … of …"

"Fujio?"

Fujio didn't answer. His eyes had found a very familiar brunette and upon her sight, he had lost his speech. There, amongst the crowd, was Hazuki, standing ladylike amongst the crowd, her eyes glued on them. Up until now, he had always admired her for her smarts, her quiet determination and her shyness. But now he had found out that she could be stunningly beautiful and it took him a while to comprehend that new discovery.

"Fujio?" Leon asked and waved his hand over the eyes of the boy. "Hey, watcha looking at?"

The blonde followed his friend's eyes and saw what he was looking at. A huge grin spread across his face and he patted his Fujio on the back harshly.

"Looks like someone's got a conquest to do tonight", Leon teased.

"Like you're one to talk", Fujio shot back. "Look who's standing there next to her."

"Huh?"

Leon's eyes moved from the brunette only to spot a bluenette who, in his eyes, looked even more gorgeous tonight than both, Hazuki and Onpu put together. Just like everyone else, Aiko had her eyes glued on the boys. Her grin was wide and cheerful and Leon could only stare. She had beaten him once again this night; she was much prettier than he was handsome.

"Wow", he breathed and a small smile featured his lips while his eyes started shining.

As if she had heard him, Aiko's eyes darted over to him. He grinned and winked at her, while she only raised a brow at him before turning her head away completely. She closed her eyes and held her nose high in the air as if saying; 'I don't want anything to do with you, so stay away from me'. Leon could only grin stupidly. This was definitely his Ai-chan and he would get her to look at him this night.

Akatsuki could only roll his eyes at his' friends' behavior. They would be of no use to him tonight. If he wanted Hana, he would have to get her himself. Yet, as he finally reached the throne that was situated at the end of the red carpet, turned around and sat down, only to have the entire hall bow to him, he couldn't help but wonder where a certain red-head might be and what she was doing. And as Onpu Segawa went to stand in the middle of the hall, ready to sing for the prince and the prince only, he also wondered if she might look just as pretty right now.

* * *

><p>Doremi meanwhile, was wondering about something entirely different; namely how she would be able to find her little daughter and get out of this nightmare of a fairy tale. The castle was so huge and there were so many different corridors that the red-head felt completely lost. Only a small giggle that would come out of some hallway every now and then kept Doremi going. The dress was weighting heavy on her body and her heeled slippers made it hard for her to walk. But she had to keep it together. She paid attention to every little step she took and somehow managed not to trip once. With time, she got better at walking with the dress and was able to focus more on where the giggling noises came from. However, Doremi started despairing once again when she suddenly ended up in front of a small staircase. How was she supposed to climb these steps without falling?<p>

But as she looked upwards, she could see her little baby floating around, clapping her hands and laughing heartily in delight. Once more did Doremi gather all of her courage, once more did she lift the hem of her dress and once more did she tackle another challenge as she slowly fought her way up the staircase.

"Hana-chan!" she said firmly as she slowly climbed stair after stair. "Hana-chan, that is enough nonsense. You're causing trouble for everybody. You can't do something so selfish just because you don't want to go to bed."

Hana stopped laughing immediately and looked at her mother for a few seconds before her eyes started tearing up. With small sobs, she turned around and disappeared in the next hallway.

"HANA-CHAN!" the red-haired cried and struggled to climb the staircase even fast.

Soon, she had mastered the challenge began to storm after her daughter, when she finally tripped over her dress and fell the stairs back down again, cursing all the way as she tumbled.

"I really am the unluckiest pretty girl in the whole wide world" Doremi whined when she had reached the end of the staircase.

But as she stood back up, she came to realize that she had damaged neither herself, nor the dress. Therefore, she figured that she might not be that unlucky after all. Once she had gathered herself, the young witch summoned her determination once again and climbed the staircase once more. She reached the top faster than the first time and started walking in the direction Hana had disappeared to. She found that the entire hallway was one huge curve and ever single door to her left was opened wide and seemed to lead to the same room, which, for some reason, seemed to have a few chandeliers hanging from the wall that were bigger than the room itself. It was weird, but Doremi didn't have time to inspect it any further. She just kept walking on.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, she found her little baby floating behind one of those chandeliers. Doremi ran into the room and understood immediately, why it had these huge chandeliers when she reached a rail; the room, wasn't a room, it was a hall. A huge hall. And she was standing on a rather narrow balcony far above the heads of the many people inside the hall. She was inside the ballroom and Hana was floating above it, hidden in the chains of one of the chandeliers.

"Hana-chan", Doremi cried as loud as she could without catching the attention of the people beneath her.

The little baby looked up, her eyes still teary. The little ponytail on her head twitched and Doremi had a feeling that something bad was going to happen. And for real, the little witch was lifted into the air and began floating over the protective fence and towards her daughter. She was floating above the hall. She was floating above the hall. She was floating above the hall. And that was NOT a good thing.

"H … ha .. Hana-chan?" Doremi squeaked on the verge of panic. "Hana-chan, let me down. Please let me down. Be a good girl and let me down."

And Doremi understood what people meant when they said to be careful what you wished for. Hana granted her wish and released her right on the spot, which caused Doremi to fall ... fast. She screamed on the top of her lungs as she tumbled down towards the hard floor. Hundreds of eyes shot upwards and watched the young girl fall from the balcony. But nobody moved; nobody except for the one person who had recognized her voice. The two outstanding strands of hair on his head twitched and slowed down the girls fall just enough to delete any possibility of serious damage. The fact that Doremi landed on the famous singer who was just about to sing for the prince helped as well.

"Owww …" Doremi groaned when she had realized that she had survived the fall.

"What on earth …" Onpu moaned when she noticed that she couldn't stand up because there was a weight on her back.

Throughout the whole commotion, the prince and his entourage all cracked a wide smile. It was so typical for Doremi to make a grand entrance like this. Akatsuki made his way towards the two girls lying on the floor before anyone else moved, followed by the blue haired wizard. He reached Doremi just as she had managed to sit up and when she looked upwards, the first thing she saw was purple haired wizards holding out his hand for her to take.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Doremi almost cried out Akatsuki's name in surprise. After all, he was the last person she had expected to see here. But she bit her tongue just in time to not mess up.

"O … ouji-sama?" she asked instead, unsure whether the person in front of her was whom she believed to be.

As he nodded, she slowly took his hand and allowed him to help her up. And upon the full display of her beauty, the entire hall froze. Doremi was outshining even the famous, beautiful and talented Onpu Segawa. At the sight of her, Akatsuki had forgotten how to breath and even Fujio, Leon and Tooru, who was helping Onpu back on her feet, had to admit that the red-head's beauty was far beyond that of their respective counterparts. Whereas Akatsuki was still fighting to get his head back into gear, Fujio was already deducting that this could only mean that Doremi was Cinderella. Or perhaps this hidden beauty of hers was the reason she was chosen as Cinderella.

The director caught himself first and reacted quickly, signing his orchestra to play a Viennese Waltz. And as the music started playing again, the people reacted to it and began dancing. Doremi caught sight of Fujio and Leon, who asked her friends a.k.a. step-sisters to dance. Hazuki accepted shyly whereas Leon had troubles getting Aiko to accept, but somehow managed anyways. But what really caught the attention of the crowd was once again Onpu, who was dancing with Tooru like nobody had ever seen anyone dance before. They twirled and twisted, step for step and looked as if they hadn't done anything else for their entire life. And as they danced, all six of them looked like they were caught in seventh heaven.

Akatsuki, who had snapped out of his stupor when the music started playing, smiled softly at Doremi's worried look as she observed her friends. The wizard prince took one step back, quickly catching the red-head's attention and bowed deeply.

"Shall we go somewhere with less people?" he asked when he had straightened himself back up.

Doremi blushed heavily and looked to the ground, before remembering Hana and her head shot upwards, searching the chandeliers and the roof for any sign that her beloved baby was alright. But Hana was gone and no matter how hard she tried, the young witchling couldn't find a proper excuse to go look for her, which probably also originated from the fact that Doremi was not exactly the brightest of persons. So instead, she looked back at Akatsuki with a face as red as a tomato and nodded.

Akatsuki held out a hand for Doremi to take and as she did, her face got even redder, if that was possible. Slowly, he tried to lead her out of the room, but Doremi tripped over her dress. Now that she only had one hand to hold up its hem, it was a lot harder to walk. Luckily, Akatsuki caught her in mid fall and kept his arm around her waist just to ensure that she wouldn't fall even if she were to trip, while his hand was still holding hers.

"Don't be nervous", he whispered into her ear. "I won't allow a beautiful young lady like you to embarrass herself. Now, let me get you out of here."

Doremi swore that her heart was going to jump out of her chest and her head was starting to swim. The close contact might just be a little too much for her to handle. Akatsuki on the other hand, only smirked devilishly. Things may not be going as planned, but it was certain that the baby would stay somewhere close to one of her mothers. And each mother was in the company of either him or his friends, so wherever she would appear, someone would be there to capture her. And from the fact that all the girls stayed separated and had no contact whatsoever, apart from Aiko and Hazuki, it was safe to assume that they didn't realize that they were part of a story, which would make it all the easier for them to capture Hana as the royal patraine would not interfere. It was a foolproof plan.

Doremi was unaware of the prince's brooding and allowed herself to be led out of the hall, into the castle gardens. The music was much quieter here, but still loud enough to catch the rhythm easily. Since Akatsuki already held Doremi's hand and already had an arm around her waist, the only thing left to do was to position himself in front of her instead next to her and he could start dancing.

"I'm … not the best of dancers", Doremi said before they could start. "I'm very clumsy, so I might step on your feet, or trip over my own or …"

"Don't think about it", the prince interrupted her. "Just allow me to guide you. Follow my lead and we'll be fine."

She didn't know how he did it. His hold on her was gentle, yet when he stepped back, he gave her no choice but to follow. When he took a step to the side, she was not allowed to do anything else but to mimic him. When he took a step forward she automatically stepped back. He was leading her so perfectly that even though she was so clumsy, even though she had never danced before in her life, she was unable to do a single wrong thing.

It didn't take long before Doremi stopped focusing on her feet and looked up, where she met the eyes of the prince. And as cliché as it might sound, the world stopped at that moment and not only for her. Just as she was fascinated by the beautiful boy who had the moonlight in his back, making him shine like Adonis, he was completely intoxicated by the sight of the girl in his arms with her creamy skin which captured the moonlight, her big, innocent red eyes and that tiny, enchanted smile that graced those beautiful … pink … kissable … lips …

They had long forgotten that they were dancing in the huge garden of an even bigger castle. They had long forgotten that they were inside a storybook that would at some point come to an end. They had long forgotten that they were supposed to find the tiny baby that had caused all this commotion. Doremi's heart was thumping faster and faster once she realized that they had stopped dancing and Akatsuki was getting closer. Much closer. Maybe a little bit too close. Or maybe - so Doremi thought when she slowly started closing her eyes and opening her lips –

Not.

But just before the red-head's eyes closed completely and Akatsuki closed the distance between them, Doremi caught sight of a tiny blonde ponytail. And there was only one person this ponytail could belong to.

The young witch's eyes shot open immediately. In a split second, her entire body was on alarm. She pushed herself away from the boy in front of her and ran past him, storming after her beloved baby.

Akatsuki just looked after her, completely perplexed and stupefied, still trying to comprehend what had just happened. He had completely forgotten about his mission. He had been completely off guard. Even more than that, he had allowed himself to get enchanted by a simple little girl. And he had almost kissed her as well.

By the honor of his kingdom …

… he had almost kissed her.

HE HAD ALMOST KISSED HER!

The moment he realized that he clapped a hand over his mouth and his face turned red. He really didn't blush often, but this was a bit more than he was able to take. The more he thought about, the redder his face got. He remembered how she had looked at him with those eyes of hers and that smile. She had been completely fascinated by him. He had achieved his goal. And yet, it seemed as if she had been the one that had seduced him, not the other way around.

For some reason that thought angered him. His two strands of hair twitched and the next word he said were heard by his three best friends, regardless of how far away they were.

"I've found the baby", he said, his voice as icy as his eyes, letting his friends know that he was deadly serious. "And I want it right now."

* * *

><p>Doremi ran. She ran as fast as she could, the teary face of her little baby not once leaving her mind. She had to reach her. She just had to. As the red-head sprinted around another corner, her beloved Hana finally came into view. Upon seeing her, a huge, relieved sigh came onto her face.<p>

"HANA-CHAN!" Doremi cried on top of her lungs.

The little baby stopped in her run ... errr, I mean float and turned around. That made Doremi stop as well. Completely out of breath, she smiled a smile only a mother could smile, huffing desperately to catch her breath.

"Hana-chan", Doremi said, her voice as soft as it would only ever get with her beloved daughter. "Hana-chan, you've been a bad girl and you know it."

Hana looked down to the ground her eyes started tearing up again.

"You won't ever do it again right?"

Hana nodded.

"You'll be a good girl from now on, right?"

Again, Hana nodded while tears were running down her cheeks. Doremi just kept smiling and spread out her arms widely. Hana looked up and her eyes were wide, not sure if she was understanding what her mother wanted to say.

"Then let's go home now."

Though her eyes were still teary, the little girl's smile got huge and she cried out while floating towards her mother as fast as she could. However, in mid-flight, she was stopped by ropes that came down from the sky and tied her up completely, only to pull her into the opposite direction, away from Doremi. Hana cried and struggled, trying to get loose, but the more she struggled, the more tightly the ropes tied around her. And as frantically as Doremi looked, the ropes didn't seem to lead anywhere. They just disappeared into the sky.

Of course, unbeknownst to her, the powerhouse of the FLAT 4, Leon, had used a spell to make himself invisible, another one to float in the sky and one more to control the ropes that tied his target. Not far away, hiding behind a wall of the castle, Fujio was on standby, ready to think up a plan to suppress Hana's magic in case she should run wild.

As soon as Leon had fulfilled his task of capturing the baby, Tooru cast his own magic to turn the entire garden into one huge maze. And before Doremi caught hold of herself, she was lost inside it, separated from her little girl.

"Wha …" she whispered to herself, "what's going on here? Does this belong to the story as well?"

She started calling for her daughter. When there was no reply, the red-head started to panic and called louder. When there was still no reply, Doremi started running. She had no idea where she was going and whenever there was a curve, she would just run where her feet took her, all the way yelling and calling for Hana. At some point, her hairstyle got loose and the hair started falling into her face. But not once did she stop running.

Then finally, there was a weak cry from Hana. It was so faint and so far away that Doremi could hardly hear, but it still resulted in her determination getting even stronger and she picked up the pace, screaming louder for her beloved baby. Without a single second of hesitation, the red-head made her way through her maze, constantly getting closer to Hana.

But Akatsuki wouldn't have it. While his friends were struggling with keeping the crying and fighting baby under control, he made it his task to distract its mother. The minute she had run away, he had figured that she knew that she was part of a story. And if Doremi knew it, there was a high possibility that the others did as well, which is why he ordered Tooru to build up the maze, just to keep them separated as long as possible. Fortunately, the only one who had reacted to the change was Doremi, which is why it was safe to assume that the other girls didn't know what was going on. And that made their job a lot easier. The only question was; why hadn't Doremi transformed yet?

And so, the young prince used his magic to conjure up a little bit of wind, just enough to make Doremi's hair go wild. Just a split second, the wizard was a bit distracted by seeing the wild side of the red-head's beauty. How odd just how much influence hair could have on a person's looks. But he refused to let himself get controlled by that girl once more and so, before she was able to sort out the mess the wind had made out of her hair, Akatsuki landed just in front of her so that Doremi ran right into him.

"Ouji-sama", Doremi cried. "I'm sorry, but I have to go."

"Eh? But why?" Akatsuki asked innocently before she could run away.

"There's something important I have to do. So please, excuse me."

Once again, Doremi started running, but Akatsuki wouldn't let her go and caught her wrist before she could escape.

"Ojou-sama, what's the matter? Did I do something wrong? Was my company not to your liking?" he said, looking as heartbroken as he could, his acting skills really coming to shine now and definitely topping those of Onpu. And Doremi's heart broke as well at the face the prince was making.

"No", she desperately tried to explain. "No, that's not it."

"Is it about what just happened? I stepped too far, didn't I? Please forgive me, I didn't mean to. I just …"

"NO! Don't say something like that. It's not your fault, it really isn't."

There was another weak cry from Hana and both, Akatsuki and Doremi could hear it. It seemed like the baby refused to learn that the more it struggled, the tighter the ropes would bind it. Upon her cry, Doremi even more desperately to get out of Akatsuki's hold, but he stayed firm and held her wrist tight, making sure not to hurt her in the process. That's when Doremi looked like she would finally crack and allowed herself to fall to the ground in defeat, hear head hanging low and her hair falling into her face, blocking Akatsuki's view on it. A satisfied smirk came over his face, but it disappeared the moment he realized that the girl's shoulders were shacking.

"Ojou-sama … ?" Akatsuki said carefully, but Doremi didn't react. So he kneeled down to her, not quite knowing what to do or what to say. A crying girl was an uncomfortable situation for any boy, but for one who had lived his entire life in a country filled with men, it seemed like the end of the world. "Ojou-sama", he said helplessly, "please don't cry. Come back to the castle with me. I'll make this evening the most beautiful one of your life."

"You don't understand!" the red-head cried, her head snapping up, before repeating herself a lot more quietly. "You don't understand …"

Akatsuki tumbled backwards. As much as he had sworn not to let this girl get the better of him any longer, this was an entirely different situation. Thick tears were running down her face and her eyes were brimming with worry. In front of him was a mother that was desperate to get to her child and even though there was obviously no room for anything else in her head, she had still tried to reassure him and calm him down. This was the Doremi that Oyajide had to deal with on a regular basis. And slowly, Akatsuki began to understand why he was always failing.

Two seconds after the prince had been caught off guard, Doremi realized that he was no longer holding her by her wrist and immediately stood back up and ran as if the devil himself was on her tail. She would apologize later. Right now, the most important thing was to find Hana. Her constant cries were enough for Doremi to find her way through the maze. If only she'd have her poron with her. Transforming into a witch would have made things so much easier.

* * *

><p>"If she struggles any more, the ropes are going to suffocate her!" Tooru yelled to his blonde friend.<p>

"And what am I supposed to do about it? I didn't make these ropes, I only told them what their target is! Fujio, you're the brainiac here, tell me what to do!"

The orange-haired boy thought hard. But the longer he thought, the more Hana struggled. And the more Hana struggled, the tighter the ropes would bind themselves around her. Before he could come up with a solution however, Akatsuki appeared before him, looking rather pale and distracted.

"Doremi's coming", he warned his friends.

"What happened to your grand plan?" The blue-haired wizard asked his boss. "Weren't you supposed to distract her?"

"She caught me off guard."

"Again?" Fujio asked critically. "You're starting to lose your touch."

"Whatever. Just make yourselves invisible and make sure you stay quiet so Doremi doesn't hear you."

"Wouldn't it be safer to give her the baby back and leave? If she notices us and Hana somehow frees herself she'll warn her friends and things will become a lot more complicated for us."

"No!" Akatsuki almost yelled. "Whatever you do, don't give up the baby. I want to get this matter over with as fast as possible. And what are you doing to the poor thing? She can hardly even breathe anymore!"

With a single snip of his hands and a twitch of his outstanding strands of hair, the rope loosened just enough for Hana to be able to breathe. It was just at that moment that Doremi's voice reached them and the four made themselves invisible. Only a few seconds later, the red-haired witch came running around the corner.

"Hana-chan", she yelled and ran to her baby, who was fairly exhausted from her fight with ropes and almost being strangled.

The four wizards could only watch as Doremi tried her best to get rid of the ropes. She pulled and tugged on them and even tried to bite them through. Fujio knew it would be in vain, which is why his gaze was resting on his leader. His eyes on the other hand, were fixated on Doremi, but what confused Fujio was the way he was looking at her. There was a mix between confusion, distraction, anger, affection, pain, and most of all, fear. This was something completely new. Akatsuki had never shown fear before. He was one of the most talented wizards of the Mahoutskaikai after all, there was nothing he needed to be afraid of. So how did this insolent little girl manage to drive the chills down the spine of his usually fearless leader? It was a mystery to him. He would have to note it down later on.

And then the ropes tied themselves around Doremi's arms as well. The witchling screamed and started pulling away, but just like they had done with Hana, they only wrapped themselves around Doremi even tighter. The changes that Fujio noticed on Akatsuki's features were astounding. His anxiousness only increased and his fear transformed himself into something different, as if he was no longer scared of Doremi, but instead scared _for_ her. The moment the ropes wrapped themselves around her body as well, the prince's hand rose as if wanting to stop the ropes, but he stopped in the middle of it. It seemed as if he was fighting with himself, unsure of what to do. How could one single girl have such an effect on him? Fujio would have to write this down as well.

And then, Hana acted for him. The tiny ponytail on her head twitched the effects were tremendous. The ropes moved away from her and her mother immediately, as if her magic had burned them. The ground beneath them started moving in waves and the maze began loosening itself from the ground and charged towards the four invisible boys.

While Leon, Fujio and Tooru were busy evading the murderous walls of the maze, Akatsuki used his own magic to calm them down. But Hana didn't seem to like them and had them charge towards the boys again only to have Akatsuki stop them again. That went on for a whole while until Doremi finally managed to balance herself upon the waving floor and reach her beloved daughter, catching her in a warm embrace. Hana finally calmed down and used one last spell to disperse the entire situation.

Once Doremi opened her eyes again, she was no longer in the castle gardens, but in front of the doors to the castle and Hana was safe in her arms. She was still crying, but from the way she was clinging to her mother's chest and burying her head in it, the red-head no longer felt any worry. For the first time ever since the she woke up in this story, she felt like things were alright. There was peace within and around her. And seconds later, it got interrupted by the sound of the bells ringing. As Doremi looked up, she saw that it was midnight. Her eyes widened as she remembered that Lala's magic would stop at midnight. She went pale and once again, started running.

"Ojou-sama", Akatsuki's voice came from the door.

The girl in question shot around and tripped over her own feet, losing one of her purple glass slippers in the process. But before Akatsuki could reach her, she stood back up and ran out of the castle grounds as fast as she could with Hana in her arms. The only thing she left behind for the prince was her glass slipper. The purple haired wizard walked towards it and picked it up, his eyes never leaving the disappearing figure.

As his friends walked up to his side, something began to dawn on Akatsuki; he might have chosen the worst of all girls to mess with.

* * *

><p>Doremi had no clue how she had reached her home. From the moment she had appeared in front of the castle, everything had seemed like a blur to her. It was only the familiar weight in her arms and the warmth at her chest that kept her head halfway clear. She was still caught in the story of Cinderella. She still had no clue how to get out. But at least Hana was now safe by her side.<p>

The red-head sat up groggily, making sure not wake the blond little princess. Her dress was gone, her skin was dirty again and her apple-red hair was a complete mess. The only thing that was left to remind her of the last beautiful and exiting evening was the single purple glass slipper that was hidden safely under her bed. The witch apprentice combed through her hair and put it in a bun as she had done the day before. Funny how it seemed to be ages away.

But as Doremi tried to open the door, she found that it was locked … and panicked. She pulled and tugged on the door and rattled on it with as much strength as she could muster. But it wouldn't budge no matter how hard she tried. As she stopped yelling her lungs out, she could hear voices outside. They seemed awfully familiar. There was … Majo Rika … and …the soft voice of Hazuki …. also ... she could sort out Aiko's energetic voice … and then there was … Doremi's heart sunk into herstomach;

Akatsuki.

Doremi calmed down almost immediately. She knew what part of the story she was in. They were looking for the princess that had danced with the prince the last night. They were looking for Cinderella. They were looking for her. And in the story, Cinderella found a way to get to the prince just in time. Therefore, the same thing was bound to happen here. She just had to calm down and figure out a way out of this room. The only problem was; Doremi wasn't all that good in figuring things out.

She was fighting with the door for ages, unwilling to give up. At some point, she could hear the people downstairs saying their goodbye to one another. Just when Doremi thought that all was lost and the story wouldn't rap up after all, the door unlocked. The only hint she got as to how the door unlocked as a small giggle from behind, which she heard as she bolted out of it.

Doremi almost jumped down the stairs, hoping dearly that she would be on time.

"Wait", she cried as she ran down the stairs. "Please wait, I haven't tried on the shoe yet."

The prince and his entourage stopped in their tracks and looked up. For sure, there was Doremi, although she looked completely different from the night before. The hidden beauty that had come to light at the ball was hidden again and she was back to the usual, clumsy Doremi, perhaps a little dirtier. But to Akatsuki, the beauty he had seen the day before was still present. Perhaps he had only learned how to see it. The search that Fujio had ordered him to in order to get out of the story (their magic didn't do the trick) was finally over. He had found his princess.

Without saying a word, he walked to the girl, kneeled before her and held out the glass slipper for her to slip in. As expected, it fit perfectly. Akatsuki stood back up and stood right in front of her.

"You're the one", he breathed.

He was so close that Doremi could feel his hot breath on her face and it send shivers down her spine. She was so focused on his eyes that she didn't even notice how he had reached for her hands and intertwined his fingers with hers. He was coming closer, slowly but steadily, as if he had forgotten where he was and the red-head's heart skipped a few beats. It was a familiar giggle that pulled them out of their own little world.

Doremi looked around. There was Tooru, who, for some reason, had Onpu in his arms, whispering something into her ear that made her giggle. There was Leon, who had stolen a kiss from her blue haired step-sister and was paying the price through a slap from her. There was Fujio, who was holding Hazuki's hand and kissing it gently, like only a real gentlemen would. There was Majo Rika, who was yelling at her girls for being satisfied with the prince's friends instead of going for the prince himself. And then there was Hana, who was clapping and giggling to scene beyond her and Doremi couldn't help but smile at her. At the same time, Akatsuki's face darkened, feeling the first dark foreshadowing of something bad that was to come.

And with a twitch of Hana's ponytail, the scene disappeared.

* * *

><p>When Doremi's mother came to the Mahou Dou that night to see where her daughter was, she found her curled up next to the blonde little baby. She smiled gently, hugged herself and left. Her daughter didn't have any school the next day, so she might as well allow her to spend the night with her protégé. The one thing on her mind when she left the shop again was that she had become a grandmother far too soon.<p>

It was a feeling that Doremi wouldn't get to know for many, many years. After all, her beloved little daughter was still just a baby that lived and loved fairy tales.


End file.
